The Tampa Bay Lightning finished off their October games against the Arizona Coyotes, but this article will also be talking about Monday night’s game against the Washington Capitals. We will be looking back at each game and seeing the pros and cons, and seeing the improvements made throughout the month of October.
So far, the Lightning have had a mixed reaction from fans about the way they have played their first few games starting in mid-October. Whether it’s because of a horrible defensive game or the Lightning have one of the best comeback’s in years, fans have had every possible reaction when watching the Lightning play this year.
With that being said, here are lists of good, bad, and just eh games so far this season.
The Good:
Arizona, Pittsburgh (second), Washington (Both):
During all of these games, Lightning fans were very happy with the results, beating Arizona and Pittsburgh 5-1, and beating the Capitals in both games, where both were won by one goal. With some of the best mix of offense and defense all season for this Lightning team that struggled for a while, fans were very happy with the way Tampa played. Here are the top 3 players from these three games (excluding Vasilevskiy).
- Alex Killorn: Goal scoring machine, one of the best players so far this season for the Lightning.
- Steven Stamkos: Already putting his name out there for the Hart, if he can stay healthy. Carrying this Lightning offense while Kucherov is injured for the next 7-9 weeks.
- Mikhail Sergachev: Amazing defense during all these games by Sergachev himself. While Hedman and McDonagh have also played well, Sergachev has stepped up his game and put the Lightning into a comfortable place to start the November portion of the season.
The Eh:
Detroit, Colorado:
These games were just eh for the Lightning. While they won against the Red Wings, it was a horrible display of defense and it made Vasilevskiy do too much work on the ice that most other teams would not allow to happen. It was a comeback victory that wasn’t fully deserved, as the team just didn’t play well. In Colorado, the Lightning messed up on so many opportunities, getting the perfect chance to score a goal and then completely messing it up. The offense wasn’t there, Vasilevskiy wasn’t fully there, but the defense did improve. These are the top 3 players from those games:
- Ondrej Palat: Got the overtime winner against Detroit, deserves a spot for his effort on the ice.
- Victor Hedman: Carried the Lightning defense and really helped the Lightning offense by making some beautiful passes.
- Steven Stamkos: Really played well with Nikita Kucherov when he played, got lots of points and helped the Lightning win against the Red Wings
The Bad:
Pittsburgh (first), Buffalo, Florida:
These games were just plain embarrassing. Horrible defense, Elliott struggled hard in net against Buffalo, and we let Buffalo win, along with a Penguins team that was pretty much an AHL team with their injuries piled up. Not much to really say about these games except that it was horrible play, and it seemed like the lines just didn’t work together. It seems like now the lines are all figured out after the embarrassing loss to Buffalo. These are the top 3 players from those games:
- Andrei Vasilevskiy: While I didn’t put him in the other two, I didn’t have anyone else who could’ve gone here. He played pretty well when the defense struggled.
- Nikita Kucherov: Him and Stamkos led this offense and really made it difficult for the opposition’s goaltenders to keep their team in the lead.
- Mathieu Joseph: Great two way play by Joseph, really put the pressure on in all of these games.